This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-109664, filed Apr. 9, 2001, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus and driving apparatus in which two shafts substantially crossing at right angles to each other can be used to position objects such as a small-sized camera in a circumferential angle direction and elevation angle direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some of conventional driving apparatuses, as disclosed, for example, in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication Nos. 1997-47003, 1995-77247, and 1999-18366, a planetary reduction gear is disposed inside a motor rotor.
Moreover, as disclosed, for example, in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKOKU Publication No. 1994-3251 and Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 1998-257358, a universal head is connected to an output shaft of a driving motor via the planetary reduction gear.
These are known examples, but a concrete construction for rotating the head in a circumferential angle direction and elevation angle direction is not disclosed, and the head can be rotate in only one direction. Moreover, the examples do no disclose a construction for disposing a wiring so as to prevent the wiring from disturbing the rotation, for example, even when a small-sized camera is laid on the universal head. During the rotation, it is a very important matter that the wiring does not disturb the rotation.
An object of the present invention is to determine a rotation position of a body with respect to both a circumferential angle direction and an elevation angle direction, and another object is to prevent rotation from being disturbed by a wiring connected to the body during the rotation.
According to the present invention, there is provided an image pickup apparatus comprising: an image pickup device for photographing a subject; and a driving device for driving the image pickup device in a circumferential angle direction and an elevation angle direction, wherein the driving device includes a first driving device which drives the image pickup device in the circumferential angle direction, and a second driving device which drives the image pickup device in the elevation angle direction, and each of the first driving device and the second driving device is constituted of a permanent magnet motor including a planetary reduction gear.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.